Have you seen the new product from Art Gallery Fabrics? They recently came out with fabric that is designed to be 2.5" binding! There are four lines, each with a different adorable design, packed into a 2.5" wide strip. I tried this binding fabric out on my cover quilt for my new Christmas pattern, Merry Magic, which will be released next month, and I'm going to show you how to use it and tell you if I think it's worth the hype.
You purchase the binding fabric as yardage. If you are the type of person who likes to buy exactly the amount of fabric you need, I suggest purchasing at least an extra few inches, just in case. This will ensure that you get enough full binding strips. I used the binding fabric from the AGF Christmas in the Cabin line. My fabric came cut pretty close to the dotted line, so I didn't have any scrap to trim.
The fabric comes with dotted lines every 2.5". These are the lines you are going to cut on to get your binding strips. When you are getting ready to cut the strips, be sure to make sure your fabric is folded that the dotted lines on the top and bottom layers line up. Skipping this step could result in you getting strips that aren't straight on one side. I had to adjust mine a little bit to make sure they lined up properly.
Cut your strips and sew the ends on the diagonal, as usual, and press in half lengthwise. For a more detailed tutorial on prepping binding, visit this post.
You will now have two sides of your binding, each with two lines of designs. Here comes the hard part: choosing which side of your binding to use! I enlisted the help of my Instagram friends to decide, and the winner here was the Christmas goodies & holly side.
Attach the binding like normal. (Again, read here about how to do that.) Pay attention to make sure you'll have the side you want showing, in addition to which design will be on the front vs. the back. When you fold your binding over to attach it to the other side of the quilt, the beautiful designs will be revealed! Machine or hand stitch the binding to finish!
Tips:
- Make sure your two layers of dotted lines are aligned before you cut your strips. Cut carefully, directly on the dotted lines.
- When pressing the strips in half, make sure the fold doesn't get in the way of the designs. The goal is to have the fold directly between the two sets of designs.
- As you fold the binding from one side of the quilt to another, again, make sure the fold is in between the two lines of designs. This will give a cleaner look to the binding, without the design from one side creeping in on the other side.
Is it worth the hype?
Yes! This binding fabric was a lot of fun to use and adds a uniqueness to quilts. It requires a bit more attention to detail than a regular binding, but it's still pretty beginner friendly. If the designs on the binding fabric go well with the style of your next quilt, I say give it a try!
